A Prom in Paris
by Leiko Skyline
Summary: Paris holds its own version of the American prom. Suddenly, Ladybug and Chat Noir find themselves facing heightened akumatization rates, and Marinette and Adrien stress over asking someone to prom...?
1. Cotillon

**In America, the high school students have a tradition. Once a year, they dress up and ask each other to a formal dance. They call it prom.**

 **Think of the possibilities, my evil akumas – the girls compete to wear the dress that stands out from the rest, and fight anyone wearing the same garment. The boys compete to escort a girl, creating elaborate schemes to convince her to say yes. And this is to say nothing of the last-minute disaster panic, the heartbreak of losing hopes to a peer, the unfulfilled expectations the night itself may contain.**

 **Such a beautiful night, inherently ripe for disappointment. What a shame France has no similar tradition.**

 **But that is not so hard to fix.**

* * *

"Slow down, Rose. What are you talking about?"

Rose shoved another pink flyer at Marinette's face. "A _cotillon!_ For Paris _collègiens!_ "

Marinette and Alya took a look at the flyer. "A Night to Remember: a formal ball for the _collège_ students of Paris," Alya read. "Based on the American prom."

The flyer detailed the event – 8 pm on May 22nd, Grand Hotel Paris, a contest for the best "promposal," whatever that was – but Marinette had one unanswered question.

"Where is this coming from?" she wondered, frowning and flipping the flyer over. No answers there. "There's no admission price, but a ball can't just be free…"

"It's funded." Marinette jumped at the male voice in her ear, but it was only Nino. "Mr. Agreste and Mayor Bourgeois are sponsoring it," he whispered. "But that's a secret. Otherwise the media would be all over Adrien and Chloé for this event."

"Okay… so what's a promposal?"

"It's like a flash mob," Alya said. "Instead of just asking someone to the dance normally, you put together something special for them."

"Wait." Marinette blinked. "Did you say… asking someone…"

A scene flashed through her head. The students of her class, dancing in the yard of their school. One by one, they walked up to Adrien and handed him a red rose. Alya was recording it all on her phone. For the finale, Marinette began to descend the stairs–

And tumbled right down them, landing on her head. Lila walked up to Adrien instead and asked if he would take her to the dance, and he said yes, and they skipped into the sunset and why did she think this was possible it would be a disaster–

"In America, the boys usually ask the girls," Nino said, snapping Marinette out of her reverie. He was determinedly looking away from Alya, his face a little red.

"What makes you so sure?" Alya nudged Marinette. "C'mon girl, you know you want to."

"It'll be a disaster," Marinette groaned.

"We'll see about that." Alya grabbed Marinette's hand and pulled her off to who-knows-where. Nino watched his girlfriend run off with her usual spontaneity. He smiled. He was already planning his promposal.

* * *

 **A/N: Hello hello! I've been working on this as a side project for a while, and I figured I ought to start publishing it before prom season ends/ML Season 2 comes out.  
**

 **Most chapters will be a bit longer than this, but not like major-commitment long. They'll be coming out a lot faster than they do for my other story, since I want to get as much as possible out before Season 2. If you're interested, follow the story, review, and I'll see you next chapter :)**


	2. Promposals

**Oh, the pain of rejection… and so early in the game? My, we are in for an exciting several weeks. Fly away, my little akuma, and darken his heart.**

* * *

"Exciting stuff, huh?" Plagg said, zooming out of Adrien's bag as the latter closed the door to his room. "You gonna ask somebody?"

Adrien sighed and fell onto his sofa. "I don't know…"

"Aw, don't give me that yucky lovestruckiness." Plagg flew into Adrien's minifridge and came out with a piece of cheese. "Don't tell me you're thinking of Ladybug?"

"Of course I am," Adrien grumbled. "I keep thinking about who to take to the dance, and even though I keep trying to decide on someone in my class…"

"Ladybug keeps popping up." Plagg huffed. "Of course she does. When does she not?"

Adrien stood up and pulled some books from his bag. "I'll figure something out."

An explosion echoed in the distance. " _Plagg, transformer moi_!" Adrien said quickly.

"But my snaaaaaaaack…" Plagg flew into Adrien's ring.

* * *

Ladybug analyzed the situation from atop _L'Arc de Triomphe_. From what she had heard from a civilian and from the mouth of the angry villain, a boy had just asked a girl to the dance and been turned down. She wasn't sure how that related to his transformation into a muddy brown creature which spewed various shades of brown glop over the town.

"It's a shame cats are allergic to chocolate," Chat Noir commented, landing beside her. "This seems like it could be enjoyable otherwise."

"Hmm… He must have asked the girl to the dance with chocolate…" Ladybug mused. Squinting at the villain, she noticed a sort of brown stick in his hand, which he was shooting chocolate from.

"Aim for the chocolate bar he's holding," Ladybug said, throwing her yoyo at a chimney and preparing to swing.

"I'm on it." Chat Noir pushed off of the Arc.

It wasn't a difficult villain to confront. The only twist was when Chat Noir landed in melted chocolate and the villain solidified it, trapping Chat post-Cataclysm. But while the villain confronted Ladybug, Chat Noir extended his stick to knock the chocolate bar from his hand. Ladybug caught it, broke it, and captured the akuma.

When all was cleaned up (and Ladybug had talked to the boy, who walked away looking a little more hopeful), Chat Noir approached her. " _Bien joué_ ," they said at once, fist-bumping in their traditional routine.

Then Chat Noir did the untraditional.

"By the way, you're not… do you happen to be a _collègienne?_ " he asked her.

Ladybug looked at him suspiciously. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because if you are, you might be going to the dance in late May?"

Her suspicion melted into surprise. "I… you're in _collège_ too?"

"I am. Will you be there?"

"I – yes."

Chat Noir cleared his throat. "Would–"

A beeping noise from Ladybug's earrings interrupted him. "Oops. Gotta go. I'll see you later," she said, throwing her yoyo and swinging away before Chat Noir could get another word in.

He watched her zoom off. A beep from his ring reminded him he needed to go, too.

"Maybe another time," he sighed.

* * *

A week later, Alya was purchasing a box of macarons from the Dupain-Chengs' bakery, to Marinette's chagrin.

"Thank you very much!" Alya said, having paid for the box. "Marinette, let's go."

"Alya, you can't just pay for my promposal," Marinette anguished when they were outside. "Besides, it's silly. It's what that boy who got akumatized last week did. I can't just offer him some food!"

"Girl, these are way better than some chocolate bar. Adrien loves your parents' bakery."

"But it's going to be a disaster–"

"Alya?"

"Hold on, we're having girl talk." Alya turned her back to Nino and whispered to Marinette, "Just relax! There's nothing to be worried about!"

"That's what you always say."

Alya handed her the box. "Worst case scenario, I've got your back." Turning around, she said, "What is it Ni–"

She froze. Nino was dressed up in a vest and tie, and was sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.

"I, um…" He cleared his throat suddenly and sprinted up the stairs, where speakers and turntables had been set up.

"He's not serious, is he?" Alya murmured, eyes wide.

Nino smiled nervously at her from behind the DJ booth. He flipped a switch and began creating his art.

As much as she loved him, Alya had never been a particularly big fan of Nino's DJ skills. But this performance – Nino had created a mix of the best bits of her favorite songs – an underappreciated Jagged Stone piece, some of Madeon's Beings, a bit of Chandelier – and he had connected them with a beat and laced them together so well they seemed to belong together.

Complètement Fou was playing when Nino threw off his headset and ran down to Alya.

"Alya," he said, the piano interlude of her favorite song playing in the background, "May I take you to _la bal?_ "

She laughed. " _Mais oui_."

" _Complètement fou_ ~" Yelle sang as they caught each other in a tight hug. The onlookers cheered, none more enthusiastically than Marinette.

"Well done!" she said, when the music died down and Nino and Alya seemed safe to approach. The spotlight on them had faded, but both were lit by a glow that had nothing to do with how many people were watching.

"Congrats, Nino," a voice behind Marinette said suddenly.

Marinette shrieked and dropped the box of macarons. They crashed to the ground, spilling everywhere.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Adrien and Marinette both bent down to pick them up.

"Nonono it's okay, it's just me! I mean, not my fault. I mean, not yours." Marinette groaned internally, wondering where her language skills went to hide when Adrien was around.

"Well, I guess we've cleaned up already," Adrien said, laughing a little.

Marinette looked down; the broken macarons were already in the box, thanks to their combined efforts.

"Wow, we make a good team," she commented. " _Bien joué_."

 _MARINETTE YOU JUST DID A LADYBUG THING YOU DONE GOOOOOOOOFED!_

Adrien's eyes widened a little. "AHEM. UM. Are you. Uh. You know, cause. Nino's ask. Are you…?" Marinette stammered, trying to change the subject.

"What she _means_ ," Alya cut in, "is, do you have any plans for who you'd like to ask to the dance?"

"Not really," Adrien responded, face falling a little. "I'm sure Chloé will want to go with me…"

"Whoa dude," Nino said, "what about you? Do _you_ want to go with _her?_ "

"I mean, she's my friend. I don't want to let her down."

Nino narrowed his eyes. "My man. In America, you know what they do? Guys ask their _girlfriends_ to prom. People become _couples_ sometimes, as a result of prom. Do you want to be in a relationship with Chloé?"

"Er… not really–"

"Adrien." Nino slung his arm around his best friend's shoulder. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. If you're gonna ask someone to the prom, you need to _mean_ it. Don't just _settle_. You can do better than that."

Alya and Marinette were having a silent but frantic conversation on the side. _You should ask him!_ Alya mouthed.

 _I can't!_ Marinette responded.

 _Of course you can!_ Alya insisted.

Marinette gestured wildly at the box of wrecked macarons.

"I guess so." Adrien shrugged, like it wasn't a big deal. "I'll keep thinking about it. Right now, I've got fencing to get to." He waved at Nino and the girls. "See you all later."

"Bye."

When he was out of earshot, Alya said, "Okay, you win this time. But you're going to ask that boy to prom if that's the last thing you do."

"Right. Sure. But after this–" Marinette swept her arm over Nino's elaborate setup. "–I'm going to need something better than a box of macarons."


	3. Flowers

"Chloé, who are you going with to the dance?"

"Why, Adrien, of course."

"Ooh! How will you ask him?"

"Sabrina, don't be silly," Chloé snapped. "The boy must ask the girl."

"Oh… But what if he doesn't?"

"Of course he will! Adrien loves me!"

The pair heard applause from the courtyard. "Another promposal?" Chloé mused.

They followed the sounds. In the middle of the crowd stood Juleka and Rose, the latter holding a bouquet of pink roses.

"You've got to be kidding me," Chloé tittered, striding up to them. The crowd parted for her, growing quiet. "What made you think _you_ could ask someone to the dance?" she said, poking Juleka in the chest.

"I–"

"Ohh, I get it. You knew none of the _boys_ would ask you… So you took yourself and your unwanted friend out of the pool in one go, so that you wouldn't have to embarrass yourself. Well, I've seen right through you."

Rose fumed. Chloé bullying her was one thing – Chloé bullying her best friend was quite another. "Juleka is my best friend, and there's no one I would rather go with to the dance," she retorted. "And anyways, I don't see _you_ with a date."

Chloé laughed. "Oh, I'll have a date. The boys know they'll need the best promposal to ask _moi_ , so they haven't yet. But you'll see. All the boys will want to take me. It's for the best that you got yourselves out of the way."

She whirled around and walked away, Sabrina tailing her. "Rose, it's okay," Juleka said.

Rose shook her head and ran. She could not remember having ever been this angry.

* * *

 **And so quickly the prom finds its victims.** ** _Épine_** **, you have been wronged by one who does not believe in your love for your friend. In return for granting you the power to enact revenge, you must bring to me Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous.**

"Will do, _Papillon._ "

* * *

Ladybug threw the red and black spotted watering can into the sky, restoring the town to its state before the akuma attack.

" _Bien joué_ ," she and Chat Noir said, pounding fists.

"I'll be back," said Ladybug, going to speak to the boy who'd been rejected.

Chat Noir watched her, smiling. They had seen a few rejection akumas over the past few days – it seemed the askings had picked up since Nino's. Every time, Ladybug went over and spoke to them afterwards, to give them hope again.

 _This attitude she has_ , he thought, _lifting their spirits after they've been akumatized… One of many reasons why she's the perfect Ladybug._

"Ladybug," he said when she was done, "may I–"

"AAAAAAAAAUGHHHH!"

The duo looked in the direction of the scream, then back at each other. "Another…?" Ladybug began.

"Maybe not…" Chat said.

"We better check…"

They sprang into action, leaping onto rooftops and swinging through the streets until they stood above the scene: right outside Grand Hotel Paris, a few onlookers running, a few people pinned to the wall by their clothes. The security guard was tentatively trying to stop someone from entering the hotel–

"Is that Princess Fragrance?" Chat Noir wondered.

Whoever it was, they pointed an object at the guard. Chat Noir and Ladybug jumped down from the roof across the street.

"Stop right there, Princess Fragrance!" Ladybug demanded.

The akuma glared over her shoulder and whipped her weapon – a bouquet of roses – at them. "It's not Princess Fragrance, it's _Épine_ ," she said. "Stay out of my way, or you'll end up like them – or worse." _Épine_ gestured at the bystanders. Ladybug and Chat Noir glanced at them, _Épine_ took the opportunity to catch the guard unaware and rush into the building. Chat Noir started after her, but Ladybug grabbed his tail.

"We have to check if they're okay."

The bystanders who'd been attacked were physically fine, though shaken and pinned to the wall by what seemed to be giant rose thorns. Ladybug tried to pull one out, but it slipped through her hands. She found the same result when she used her yoyo string.

"Don't worry, we'll get you out of here," she told the frightened man. "For now, you'll be safer outside." It wasn't much, but there weren't better options.

"Is that Juleka?" said Chat Noir.

Ladybug looked up and saw a dark figure running towards them. Juleka stopped in front of them, breathing heavily. "Have you seen Rose?" she asked, winded.

"We think so," said Ladybug. "We were just about to go inside."

Juleka looked at the people pinned down by thorns. Her shoulders drooped a little. "She's akumatized, isn't she?"

"Do you know what happened?"

Juleka nodded. "I asked Rose to the _cotillon_. Chloé made fun of us, and Rose got upset."

"She must be after Chloé, then," Chat Noir said, looking up at the hotel front.

"Thanks for letting us know. Did you happen to give her flowers?" Ladybug asked.

"I – yeah. Roses."

"That's probably the akuma. Thanks. Uh, could you stay here and… Watch over these people?"

"I… sure–"

"Great, thanks."

Ladybug and Chat Noir bolted into the hotel, leaving behind a stunned Juleka.

"Why is she watching over them?" Chat Noir asked.

"So she doesn't follow us in. People do crazy things in love."

Chat Noir bit his tongue to stop himself from saying anything.

They split up to recharge from the last fight – "Plagg, hurry up." – "I can't remember the last back-to-back akuma attack, Tikki." – "I'm appreciating the cheese!" – "I mean, it kind of happened with Timebreaker, but at least they were in the same place at the same time." – "Appreciate it faster, please!" – "What if they keep happening back-to-back? If this keeps up, we won't be able to handle them all…" – and met again in the lobby.

They had been to Chloé's room before – too many times, really – so finding _Épine_ was easy. Chloé was pinned to her bedroom wall by rose thorns, shrieking.

"You've RUINED my NEW SWEATER do you have ANY idea how much this COST–"

"To be fair, probably just a drop in the bucket for your father," Chat Noir said casually.

 _Épine_ turned around. "I _told_ you not to follow me," she growled, whipping her bouquet at them. Chat Noir whirled his baton, defending himself and Ladybug from the barrage. The thorns stayed embedded in his baton.

"Lucky charm!" Ladybug shouted. She tossed her yoyo in the air and caught the item that emerged…

 _Okay, a shovel?_

She looked around. The shovel. The wall. Chat Noir's baton. Oh, this one was easy.

Ladybug whirled her yoyo. "Pin her," she muttered to Chat Noir.

They fought with thorns and deflections, _Épine_ backing up slowly as they advanced. Ladybug threw her yoyo at the bouquet. _Épine_ deflected it, but not before Chat Noir threw his stick, hitting her forearm. The thorns on the ends of his baton stuck to the wall, holding her bouquet arm out to the side. Ladybug threw the shovel spade-first, slicing through the roses' stems. An akuma fluttered out of the beheaded flowers.

"No more evildoing for you, little akuma." Ladybug split her yoyo and whirled it at the akuma. She caught it and released its pure form.

"Bye bye, _petit papillon_."

She threw the shovel in the air, and within moments everything was back to normal. Chat Noir's baton clattered to the ground, free of thorns, and Chloé fell back down with a squeal. The townspeople outside were likely freed as well.

Around now, _Épine_ transformed back into Rose. Suddenly, Juleka ran in.

"Rose! Are you all right?"

Rose looked a little bewildered. "I think so…?"

Juleka ran over and hugged her best friend. "I'm so sorry. I went for it even though I knew it might go badly. I didn't even think about how it might affect you. I'm so sorry."

"Wha– I was only mad because she was being mean to you–"

"Chloé? I think she just doesn't know."

They all looked at Chloé, who was standing awkwardly where she'd fallen.

" _Quoi?_ " she snapped.

"Some girls fall for girls," said Juleka, helping Rose to her feet. "Not you, perhaps. But I am very much in love with Rose, and there is no one I would rather take to _la cotillon_."

Chloé's face flickered back and forth between the two. "Well… whatever. Do what you want," Chloé muttered, turning and stomping out of the room.

"Wow," Chat Noir mused. "That's almost an apology, coming from Chloé."

Ladybug caught Juleka's eye. "That was really brave of you," she said. In all the time she'd known Juleka, she'd rarely heard her stand up for anything.

Juleka blushed a little. Then she shook her head. "She just needed to learn. It wasn't even a risk, saying that."

"Still."

"People do crazy things in love," Chat Noir reminded Ladybug, grinning lopsidedly. She laughed. He took it a step farther and said, "They do tend to see the world through rose-tinted glasses."

Ladybug facepalmed. Chat Noir grinned. Juleka and Rose giggled.

Juleka and Rose left together. Ladybug's earrings beeped at her. "Gotta go. See you later," she said, opening the door to the balcony.

Chat Noir's smile fell a little. "Ah, wait a second," he said.

Ladybug looked at him. She was already halfway out the balcony door. "What is it?"

He froze up. "Um." There was a wall of panic somewhere between his heart and his vocal chords. "Are… Are you going to _la bal_ with anyone?"

She thought about it. Was she? Would she ever ask Adrien, and would he agree?

"Um… I'm not sure yet."

"Oh, okay," Chat Noir said quickly. "Let, let me know when you decide."

Puzzled, Ladybug replied, "Okay. See you later."

"See you."

She threw her yoyo and swung away.

 _I mean, I guess that was progress_ , Chat Noir thought.

* * *

 **Hell week of midterms is over, so... writing time? :)**


	4. Dresses

**Disclaimer and Content Warning at the bottom.**

* * *

Mylène wrestled another dress onto its hanger. She had been shopping since school got out, and it was nearly seven and she had neither eaten nor found a dress that fit. Not even one that she liked; one that _fit_.

"Are there any more?" she asked the lady at the counter.

The lady at the counter sighed and stood up. "Let me check," she said, going into the back.

Mylène looked herself in the mirror. _Short_ , she thought, trying to stand taller. _Lumpy. Heavy. Not even pretty._

Ivan had told her so many times that she was beautiful. It didn't make her feel any better. She wondered – if her boyfriend's affirmations didn't make her feel better about herself, would anything?

She hadn't worn a dress since _école primaire_ , when childrens' dresses stopped fitting her. The more dresses she tried, the more she worried that nothing would fit. Worse, each dress that didn't fit – didn't make it past her hips, didn't zip up, fit too tight in one place and too loose in another – further affirmed what she was thinking as she tried them on.

 _Lumpy._

 _Heavy._

 _Not even pretty._

The lady returned with a dress. Mylène's breath caught in her chest – it was the color of the sky, with a layered skirt and cloth flowers traveling up to one shoulder. It was a little wider than the other dresses – maybe this would fit.

"Go ahead and try this on," the lady said, handing her the dress.

"Thank you!" said Mylène, taking it and bolting into the dressing room.

She hung the dress on the rack and just stared at it for a moment. There was a warmth spreading from her heart that said, _this is the one_. _This is the dress that will make me pretty._

Actually, maybe it was, _Please fit me. Nothing else has all afternoon. Please, I'm begging you._ It was hard to say which.

Mylène took a deep breath and started to try it on.

It was the kind that lacked a zipper and had to go over her head. The waist had trouble making it past her torso, but a few wiggles and it was down. Mylène held her breath as she moved the straps to her shoulders. She turned around to face the mirror.

And, well.

It wasn't _perfect_. The bust was just a tiny bit large, and it only fit if she sucked her stomach in. But she could do that, right?

It wasn't a success so much as a, _Well, this is good enough._ But this was by far the best she had found in four hours, and she had math homework to do, and this dress would work.

Mylène started to take it off. She pulled the skirt over her head.

And then she was stuck.

She squirmed, trying to get the waist back over her chest. She heard a rip at her side and stopped moving.

 _Oh no_.

She moved carefully and heard another rip. She froze with her arms and skirt stuck over her head, the dress definitely damaged and stuck at her chest and it was getting hard to breathe and through the rip in the side she could see herself in the mirror, her bare lower half which was–

 _Lumpy._

Tears rose through her throat to her eyes.

 _Heavy._

 _I just want to fit into a dress again_ , she thought, starting to cry.

 _Not even pretty._

* * *

 **Metamorph – I will give you the power to have any shape, and fit anywhere. In return, you must obtain the Miraculous for me.**

"I will, _Papillon_."

* * *

"There's got to be something!"

"He likes Jagged Stone. Sing him a Jagged Stone song?"

"I'd be so nervous, I'd sing off-key the entire time."

"Marinette, you can't just shut down every idea I give you."

"Logic. I'm being logical."

"Sure, sure. You've logicked your way through Jagged Stone, any and every kind of food, posters, flowers, and even reenacting a Chat Noir and Ladybug adventure. Which sounded great to me."

Marinette shuddered just thinking about that last one. "Adrien isn't dorky enough to play Chat Noir."

"Maybe you could just kidnap him."

" _Alyaaaaaaa…_ "

Alya stretched and yawned. "Let's take a break. It's already seven."

Marinette sighed and stood up. "I think my dad made dinner, are you hungry?"

"Am I ever."

Marinette's dad was burning the food. "Sorry about this," he said, serving the quiche onto plates. "I got distracted by the news."

Marinette glanced over. Her heart sank as she saw the unmistakable live footage of an akumatized villain.

"I'm sure it's great as always," said Alya, bringing plates to the table.

"I gotta– I left something at school. I'll be right back," said Marinette, rushing for the door.

"It can wait until we after we eat, right?" said her dad.

"School will be closed by then. Don't wait for me."

She flew out the door. Alya and Marinette's dad exchanged a glance and a shrug.

"Your daughter's a strange one," said Alya.

"You're telling me?" said Monsieur Dupain-Cheng.

* * *

Chat Noir sat atop a building, waiting. Normally he'd have plunged right into battle. But for a few reasons, he needed to talk to Ladybug first.

Not because of prom. He was trying to bury the prom reason underneath the duty reasons.

"Hey. What did I miss?" Ladybug said, landing next to him.

"Not much. She's tearing up the boutique down there. The shop owners ran away. Problem is, I can't pick out the akuma."

Ladybug squinted at the boutique below. She caught a glimpse of something hot pink wearing a blue dress.

"That's not Horrificator, is it?"

"I don't think so? She looks more human than Horrificator did. No tail, fewer eyes. But it might be Mylène again."

Ladybug prepped her yoyo. "All right, let's go check it out."

They landed and entered the boutique. The outline of a butterfly flashed around not-Horrificator's face. "Glad you showed up!" she said. "Why don't we skip the part where I fight you and win, and you just hand me your Miraculous now?"

"Ooh," said Chat Noir. "I'm very convinced. You really have a way with words."

He and Ladybug walked forward slowly. "Mylène, why are you doing this? What happened?" Ladybug asked.

"My name is Metamorph, not Mylène. Until _Papillon_ found me, I couldn't find a dress that fit. Now, I fit any dress, and everyone else can feel my pain of searching and finding nothing." She reached out and pulled a glittery gold dress off a rack, and ripped it in two.

The fashion designer part of Ladybug cringed internally. "I guess it's the dress," she whispered to Chat Noir.

"We have to rip her dress off?" He sounded horrified.

"I mean, Horrificator didn't wear clothes." Chat Noir didn't seem convinced. "It'll be all right. You can look the other way."

"I'd rather you ad-dress that situation."

"If you're not going to hand them to me peacefully," said Metamorph, "I guess we'll do this the hard way."

She pulled five clothing hangers off a rack and threw them at Ladybug and Chat Noir. Chat Noir used his stick to bat them away, but too late, Ladybug realized it was a distraction.

"Watch o–"

Two full racks of clothes hit them from both sides. It was a soft landing, due to the clothes, but the racks stuck, pinning them in heavy winter coats. Ladybug struggled to get her arm out in the open. Metamorph advanced on them, grinning.

Chat Noir extended his stick in the middle of a mass of clothes, pushing everything off of one rack. They jumped out of the trap and ran at Metamorph. Right as they were about to reach her, she seemed to collapse to the floor. Something pink slithered out of the bottom of the dress and up into another one hanging on the wall. Metamorph took shape as a smaller version of herself, fitting into the child-size dress exactly.

Chat Noir picked up the dress she'd been wearing and tore it in half – nothing happened. "Well… hm."

The gears in Ladybug's head were whirling madly. _If she was trying on dresses when she was akumatized, then there's a high probability she wasn't wearing much when it happened… So it would have to be the dress, in theory._

 _Wait, if she was trying on dresses…_

"Chat Noir, hold her off," Ladybug told him, darting towards the changing rooms. Metamorph shoved another rack of clothes at him; he leapt over it and took a swing at her. She melted out of the child's dress and took shape in a yellow sundress.

Ladybug, meanwhile, ran in and out of the dressing rooms. She found a prom dress in one, but tearing it in half resulted in nothing.

Ladybug entered the seventh room and heard the door lock behind her, and was promptly tackled by Metamorph, whose body took on just the shape she needed to hold Ladybug down and reach for her ear–

"Cataclysm!"

The door shattered. Chat Noir put his baton between Metamorph and Ladybug and pulled Metamorph off of her.

"Lucky charm!" Ladybug yelled. From her yoyo fell a red-and-black spotted…

 _…thermos_ …

She looked around. At first nothing stood out, but then she noticed the jewelry for sale at the front counter.

Chat Noir was still wrestling with Metamorph, only stopping her from taking his ring by gripping his baton tightly. Ladybug's yoyo grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away. Chat Noir prepared to fight Metamorph with her, but he realized there was something glittery flying in a gentle arc towards him. He caught it, looked at it, and immediately knew what had to be done.

"Hey! Metamorph!" he called.

Ladybug and Metamorph looked up from their fight to see him waving his ring in the air.

"Want my Miraculous? You'll have to catch it!"

He threw the ring. Ladybug and Metamorph both ran for it. Ladybug opened the thermos and reached up, catching the ring inside it; Metamorph, not to be outdone, shrank and leapt into the thermos to get it. Ladybug shut the thermos.

"A perfect fit!" she said.

They moved quickly, hoping Metamorph wouldn't run out of air. On the floor of the very last changing room lay a prom dress, the deep violet color of an akuma. Chat Noir tore the dress, Ladybug caught the akuma that emerged, and Mylène appeared outside the thermos.

"Miraculous Ladybug!" Ladybug cried, tossing her Lucky Charm in the air. With a whoosh, the boutique fell back into order, the akuma's destruction erased.

"Mylène, are you all right?" Ladybug asked.

"Yeah, what happened?"

"You were akumatized."

"Did I hurt anyone?"

"Nope. Just some dresses. And they're all right now."

Mylène drooped a little. "Okay. That's good."

Ladybug noticed. "What's wrong?"

Mylène was staring at the ground. "I couldn't find a dress that fit," she mumbled.

"Hm…" Ladybug looked at Chat Noir, then at the store, then at Mylène. "I think I know a place that'll work."

Ladybug and Mylène started to leave the store, Chat Noir lagging a little behind them. While the girls talked, his heart was pounding.

 _Akuma's been defeated. Now is the time._

 _She's gonna say no._

 _Stop being a fraidy-cat!_

 _Why is this so difficult?_

His ring beeped. Ladybug turned around. "Ah, your ring. You're running out of time," she said.

 _I sure am._

"I need to talk to you," he said.

She hesitated. "Okay. What is it?"

Chat Noir glanced at Mylène.

 _She needs to prioritize Mylène right now, because Mylène is still sad and was just akumatized and could be akumatized again, and did her earring just beep? She needs to hurry. Also she's not going to say yes anyways she's going to say no she's going to say no._

The wall between his heart and his vocal chords pushed down on his words until they fizzed out.

"Never mind," he said quickly. "See you later."

He ran.

* * *

"What in the name of camembert was _that?_ "

"Forget it, Plagg."

"Forget it? You've never been like this before! You were once again – _once again_ , this isn't the first time – going to ask the love of your life to the prom, and once again – _once again!_ – you chicken out?"

"What am I supposed to… How do I…" He groaned and flopped on his bed. "I don't know what's happening! I don't understand it! The moment comes and suddenly my heart's beating too fast and my head's a jumble and I can't do it!"

"Well, don't just give up on it!"

"I'm not giving up. That would be a lot easier, and a lot less stress, but I'm not giving up."

* * *

Mylène was unsure about the plus-size boutique for a bit, but after Ladybug convinced her that it was more of a this-store-sells-clothes-in-your-size thing than whatever preconceived notion Mylène had (at least, tried to convince her), they went for it. Mylène took a few dresses into the changing room; Ladybug went into another stall to detransform for a bit and feed Tikki.

Mylène was on her own. She took a deep breath.

 _Here goes_ , she thought.

For a bit she was concerned the first dress wouldn't get past her hips, but the zipper wasn't all the way down. It slid on easily and zipped up comfortably. Mylène realized she could relax and still feel comfortable in it. She turned around to look herself in the mirror.

 _Oh!_ she thought, stunned. _I look…_

She thought about it for a minute.

 _I look pretty okay_ , she thought.

She tried on the others. One of the dresses – it was light pink, with sheer lacy shoulders, a bright sash across the waist, and a knee-length skirt made from layers of some kind of shimmery sheer pink material. Mylène zipped it up and turned around.

The background noise within her faded away, as though her head and her heart had stopped talking to look. Mylène twirled for the full effect. The skirt floofed out a little and she giggled.

She looked up and caught the expression on her glowing face. Words couldn't… she couldn't… It was perfect.

 _I feel like a princess._

It was a much shorter shopping trip. Mylène paid for the dress, thanked Ladybug, and brought home the dress that made her feel like a princess. She'd thought before that the dress would make her feel pretty again, and it kind of did, but in more of a roundabout way – through her smile, her eyes, the glow she gave off – than just decoration.

Ladybug didn't need to tell her she was pretty. Ivan told her often, and it hadn't ever affected her. Now, Mylène felt it anyways.

 _Better. I feel… beautiful._

It must not have been up to them, after all.

* * *

 **Content/Trigger Warning: Mylène is portrayed as having unhealthy body image, and I write using her mindset in the beginning. If you wish to skip over this, start reading from the bold print (Papillon's words) in the early-middle of the chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I really think the canon Mylène is good with her body image – I've never noticed her express discomfort in her body, although I don't think any other character has either. I also want to say that I didn't pick Mylène because her body type must inherently mean she's insecure (which, obviously, isn't so).**

 **I chose Mylène (and this topic, for that matter) because her body type most mirrors the insecurities I used to have. I've wanted to incorporate this story into a piece for ages, but Chance never gave me the... chance... Whereas for this one, the opportunity presented itself with a fanfare and confetti. I mean, prom? Dresses? All it was missing is... well, a lot, but I can write about that later. For now, this was something I'd wanted to get off my chest, and Mylène was unfortunate enough to play me.**

 **I would further like to point out that Mylène doesn't feel pretty just because she found pretty clothes. What the dress in the end did was let her see herself in a new light, and thus come to terms with her own body.**

 **Anyways! Chapter five is almost ready to roll, so hang tight while I finish up. See you then~**


	5. Backs

**The prom is beginning to draw near… Now is the time when panicked last-minute proposals result in disappointment, when the anxiety of running out of time rises, when my akumas flourish. Fly away, my akumas! Darken the hearts of the teenagers of Paris!**

* * *

Marinette flopped down on her bed, exhausted. The last few weeks had gotten worse and worse in akuma frequency, nearly all of them because of the prom. Mostly promposals. She was losing track of all the backstories, but one boy had been upstaged by another who asked first, and another boy asked a girl in a simple ask, leading another boy to get mad because his elaborate plans were wasted, and there was a girl who'd felt pressured to say yes but really wanted to go with someone else. And so on. And they were not given a wide variety of supervillain powers.

"If I see one more flower based akuma," Marinette said to Tikki, "I'm getting rid of the rooftop garden. I'll get a new favorite shirt. No more flowers."

It wasn't just the prom asks, though. The girls of Paris had picked up on the American tradition of wearing a dress unique from everyone else's. There were only a few such akumas now, but Marinette knew on the day of the prom, a few would realize they had the same dress, and there would be akumas for days and _ugh_.

"Knock knock," Alya's muffled voice came through the trapdoor.

Tikki flew into Marinette's bag. "Come in," said Marinette, sitting up.

Alya climbed up. "I did some research," she said. "The good news is that often times, Americans just go to prom in groups of friends. It's totally okay. So worst case scenario, it won't be too bad if Adrien says no."

"Aside from me being a wreck as a result," Marinette sighed.

"Get it together, girl," said Alya, planting herself on Marinette's bed.

She'd tried. She really had. But with the increasing number of akuma appearances, her capacity to actually come up with a plan for asking Adrien was waning. As for her ability to execute it – had that existed in the first place?

"What else?"

"Nino was right. Americans do sometimes form relationships as a result of prom. Not always. Sometimes. Also, in America, each school has its own prom. It's not usually citywide. And prom takes place in 'high school', which is what we'd call _lycée_."

Marinette frowned. "Why is it _collège_ for us, then?"

"I dunno. Probably because it's Mayor Bourgeois and Monsieur Agreste sponsoring it. They want their kids to experience it."

"Yeah, but couldn't they wait…?" Marinette frowned and filed that information away for later. "Anything else?"

"Um… oh, couples usually match. Usually it's the boy who matches the girl, since it's easier to pick a certain tie and shirt than it is to pick a specific color dress. Couples also wear matching corsages and boutonnieres."

"Wait, so I'm _actually_ running out of time," Marinette realized. "I need to coordinate all this… I haven't even started making my dress yet… I still need to ask Adrien…"

She could see it now. Running into the ballroom with a haphazardly put-together dress, and then suddenly realizing she'd forgotten to ask Adrien, and then her skirt falling off in front of everyone, and this was going to be a mess…

"Relax. You have some time. You just need to hurry up and ask Adrien. That'll be a good first step," Alya said, patting Marinette's shoulder.

"Easier said than done…"

"Hey, I've got your back. I'll help you plan." Alya pulled a sheet of copy paper off a shelf. "Okay. Let's do this."

At nine o'clock at night, they had an idea that could work. Marinette finally started to relax.

 _No matter what, at least Alya's got my back_ , she thought.

* * *

"Hey dude."

Adrien looked up from his book. "Hey Nino."

Nino slid into the seat beside him. "Okay. So, I need to know. Are you planning to ask anyone to the prom?"

"I haven't decided," Adrien said.

"Alya and I did some research," Nino said. "Couples are supposed to match for prom. They wear the same colors and order matching flowers."

"I'm sick of flowers," Adrien groaned.

"That's not the point. Time is running out," Nino said. "If you're gonna ask someone to prom, you've got to do it fast."

Adrien leaned back with a sigh. Nino was right – it was getting too close to ask Ladybug, and he knew it. The only problem was that this prom ask had uncertainty on another level.

"What do I do if she says no?" Adrien asked.

"You say…" Nino shifted in his seat. "…you say…I think you say, 'Okay,' and pretend nothing happened. I mean, you never really know why she said no, and it doesn't mean necessarily that she hates you or even that she doesn't love you. For all you know, she promised to be someone's backup already, or her friendgroup decided to go together, or her family wouldn't let her go with a date. So you say okay and move on."

Adrien nodded slowly. "Okay. I'll…" He breathed deeply. "I'll do it within the next week."

"You'll let me know what happens, right?" Nino nudged his friend's shoulder.

Adrien grinned. "Yeah. I will."

Nino took out his phone to chill beside Adrien while the latter studied.

 _Even if Ladybug says no_ , Adrien thought with a smile, _Nino's got my back._

* * *

"Kim, it's okay."

"I can't believe she rejected me again," Kim sobbed. Heartbreak aside, it was almost a humorous scene: a giant athlete sitting on the steps of the school, being comforted by a tiny boy in suspenders.

"It's okay. She'll come around."

Max was doing his best not to seem surprised. Chloé had not only rejected, but ridiculed Kim before. He knew Kim's feelings were more infatuation than love. But Kim was his best friend, and Max did his best to help him.

Though encouraging Kim might not necessarily have been helpful.

"Okay, look," said Max. "Chloé is betting on Adrien asking her to the prom. I think we all know this isn't going to happen unless Adrien's desperate for a date, which he's not. Chloé's being traditional about this whole thing, so she's not going to ask anyone herself. And the likelihood that Chloé will be content to go alone is so small it's negligible."

Kim sniffed. "What are you trying to say?"

"At some point, Chloé will be desperate. And that'll be your time."

Kim nodded slowly. He smiled. "You think so?"

"Do you trust me?"

"I trust you."

Max helped his friend up. If he was being honest with himself… he didn't really want Kim to go with Chloé. He was – guiltily – hoping his straight best friend wouldn't have a date, so they could go as friends. Just as friends. I mean, he really would've rather gone with a date, meaning a boy date, but there wasn't a particular boy, and it didn't seem any boy would ask him. So going with friends was the best option.

It did get more complicated. Max had written out his priorities for both him and his best friend:

Max: 1) go with a boy  
2) go with Kim as friends  
3) go alone and be lonely

Kim: 1) Kim has anyone-but-Chloé as a date and is happy  
2) Kim has Chloé as a date, whatever  
3) Kim doesn't have a date, emotions indeterminate.

The problem was his first priority for Kim aligned with Max's last priority, and Max's first wasn't realistic, and his second aligned with Kim's last.

In other words, it was up for debate whether they both could be happy. Max wanted to think he'd be fine as long as his best friend was happy, but if he was being honest with himself, he wasn't sure.

…well, no, he was sure. He still wouldn't be happy.

* * *

 **YAS SUMMERTIME IT'S TIME TO WRITE EVERYTHING LIT LIT LIT**


	6. Priorities

"I'm telling you, you gotta show me the design. You're only supposed to hide your dress from your prom date."

"My dress is right here," said Marinette, lifting her shopping bag.

Alya glanced at the bag of glitter and pink fabric and sighed. "That's not what I meant."

Marinette giggled. The akuma rate had dropped off a little – which of course meant it was getting too late for promposals, aka it was getting too late for _her_ promposal… But it was nice, having a sort-of-break. She had time to plan and make her dress now.

As they passed a confectionary, Marinette caught a glimpse of someone they knew inside the shop. "Alya, it's Alix."

Alix Kubdel was wandering around the confectionary, looking glum. The cashier was keeping an eye on her, evidently suspicious of the teenager wandering aimlessly around the shop.

"Alix, hi," said Marinette, entering the store.

Alix looked up from the shelf. "Hey," she said, smiling briefly.

"How's it going?"

"It's good. I'm just… I'm trying to figure out how to ask a guy to prom."

"Nice! Way to bend expectations," said Alya, patting her shoulder.

Alix smiled halfheartedly. "Yeah."

"Is something wrong?" Marinette wondered.

Alix shrugged. "I dunno. This whole promposal thing… It all feels too forced. I don't want to put that kind of pressure on him."

"Hm…" Marinette glanced around the confectionary. "What if… What if you let him know it's okay if he says no?"

"Oh. Like if I just say, 'Hey, you can totally say no and I won't be…' well, I would be bummed. But he can say no." Alix considered this. "Worth a shot."

"Good luck," said Marinette as she and Alya exited the shop.

"Thanks."

Alix turned back to the shelves and picked up a teddy bear attached to a box of chocolates. "Worth a shot," she murmured.

* * *

There was an akuma that night, but it wasn't related to prom. When all was said and done – town restored, akuma released, civilian attended to – there was a sense of revitalization between them. It was an easy akuma to defeat. Chat Noir hadn't used even cataclysm. A cool night breeze stirred their hair.

" _Bien joué_ ," they said.

"That was almost nice," Ladybug said, stretching. "I feel refreshed."

"Mm…" Chat Noir said in agreement.

"What? No pun?" Ladybug joked.

Her earring beeped. He looked up at her, a flurry of unreadable emotions running across his face.

"Can we go on a walk?" he asked her. "Just until you have to go."

They strolled along the River Seine, just appreciating the air off the water.

 _What's up with him?_ Ladybug wondered. She couldn't read his face still, which was fluctuating between expressions just slowly enough for her to see (but not determine) each one before it went away.

Her earring beeped. Two spots remaining.

 _You can do it_ , he thought. _You're Chat Noir, the brave, real side of Adrien Agreste, and you can do it._

His heart was pounding at an unreasonable tempo. He kept shifting from determination to anxiety to _ah-man-I-love-her_ to _ah-man-why-is-this-so-difficult_.

 _Did her earring just beep? That was fast… Does it usually change that fast? Am I just taking too long? I mean obviously I'm taking too long but I don't remember it changing that fast in the past. Hahaha that rhymes, fast in the… focus, darn it. You need to focus._

Her earring beeped, leaving one spot. Chat Noir felt his stomach twist in despair. He stopped walking.

"Chat Noir? Are you all right?"

 _No, I'm not, but…_

He breathed shakily. He took her by the hands and looked into her beautiful bluebell eyes.

"Ladybug," he said, "I've been meaning to say this for a while. Will you…"

 _Say it say it say it come on say it you can do it_

"Would you do me the honor of going to _la bal_ with me?"

Silence. They stared into each other's eyes, each trying to read the other through their mask.

"Oh, _Chaton_ ," Ladybug sighed.

His heart sank. He let go of her hands quickly. "It's okay, I knew you might, don't think anything of it–"

"No, I…" She gestured aimlessly. "I'm sorry. I really am. But you know we can't reveal our identities to each other."

"Oh." It was a technicalities issue. "Maybe if we went as our superhero forms… Well, no, my friends would notice if I didn't go."

"Mine too. And we'd get too much attention."

"Yeah."

They stood there by the Seine, everything making too much sense. Chat Noir took a deep breath. "You should probably get going," he said. "Before you detransform."

"Yeah." She pulled him into a hug, taking him by surprise. "Thanks for understanding."

" _Mais oui_ ," he said softly.

Ladybug let go of him – a little too soon, and they both felt it – and swung away. Chat Noir didn't mind that it was cut off; she had to hurry to get home.

He took a deep breath. "So, that happened."

* * *

Adrien walked into class a little slower than usual the next day. Marinette hoped he was all right.

She wasn't feeling great either, after turning down Chat Noir – it was too easy, the technicalities answering for her. Maybe he'd have been her second choice, all technicalities removed. But even that was hard to say, because the technicalities were so thoroughly ingrained in who they were.

"Ready for today?" Alya asked her.

"Ready for– ah, yeah," she said.

It was promposal day.

* * *

"You all right, man?" Nino whispered to Adrien.

Adrien dropped his bag on the floor and slid into his seat. "I asked her to the prom yesterday," he whispered.

"Aw, man," Nino said, already knowing her answer.

"It's all right," Adrien said. "It's like you said. It was all because of complications."

"Hm… well, I guess in the long run, you got a chance with her then," Nino said.

Adrien smiled a little. "Maybe. Hey, thanks for not asking who it is."

"Course man. I mean, I wouldn't mind knowing, but if you wanted to tell me, you'd tell me. I got you."

They fist-bumped.

* * *

Lila lounged against the wall at the bottom of the stairs. A passerby might have assumed she was asleep – leaning against the wall, eyes closed, legs stretched out on the grass. Not so. She was just listening.

"Backup plan?"

"Yeah, like someone else."

"Uh…"

"Let me put it this way. Is there anyone else you would ask?"

"Well… not really."

"Okay. Now let's say someone asked you. Would you say yes?"

"Depends, but… Are we expected to kiss?"

"Wh– nah, man. Where'd you get that idea? You usually just do a slowdance with them. You don't even have to hang out with them much, depending on how close you are."

"Oh, okay. I'd be down for that."

"Awesome."

"My ride's here. See you after lunch."

"See you, man."

Footsteps faded away as the two went home. Beneath the wall at the bottom of the stairs, Lila smiled.

* * *

"Lunch break, they said," Marinette grumbled, running upstairs. "Break time. Relaxation. Enough time to eat lunch and ask someone to prom, even if an akuma appears."

"No one ever said that," Tikki pointed out.

"Well, we're going to find out if it's true. Tikki, _transformer moi!_ "

* * *

"Hi, Chloé. How's it going?"

Chloé looked at Lila disdainfully. "What do you want?"

Lila sat next to her and Sabrina on the bench. "I hear you're interested in taking Adrien Agreste to prom."

"That's none of your business."

"Well, anyways." Lila leaned in and put a hand on Chloé's shoulder. The latter stiffened but didn't pull back. "I overheard him talking to Nino. Turns out, he already asked someone to prom."

"That's ridiculous. He'd have asked me first."

Lila put her hands in the air. "I'm just saying what I heard. He also said he's definitely not asking anyone else."

"You're making this up," Chloé snapped.

"He did seem kinda down this morning," Sabrina contributed. "Maybe he got rejected."

"No one asked you," Chloe muttered. Sabrina shrank.

Lila's eyes were filled with sympathy. "I know it's a lot to take in. But… well, maybe you should think about finding another prom date."

" _Moi_ , settle for less?"

"It won't be hard for you. You've probably got guys all lined up to ask you. Just take your pick." Lila shrugged. "Unless you want to ask Adrien to prom."

"Ask him myself? I'm not that desperate."

"Your call," said Lila, standing up. "Hope that helped," she said, waving as she walked off.

* * *

Kim and Max were on their way to their seats when Chloé sighed loudly. "Kim, very _well_ ," she said.

"What?" Kim said.

"I _suppose_ I'll go with you to the prom."

Kim's face lit up like a firecracker. "You mean it?"

"Don't make me change my mind," she snapped. "Also, my dress is going to be a very specific shade of blue…"

Max watched Kim's eyes shine brighter and brighter, and felt his heart sink lower and lower. _Now_ who was he going to spend prom with?

"I'll be right back," he mumbled, running out.

Did Kim even hear him? Did he even care anymore, now that he had a prom date and could afford to forget about his best friend?

* * *

 **The poor souls left behind. When their friends partner off, where are they supposed to go? What is left for them? Can their night be what they hoped? Fly away, my evil akuma, and darken his heart.**

* * *

Max found a bench in the courtyard. He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes.

He just needed to think. He'd lined up their priorities, but he hadn't expected Kim's first to come true. What were his options?

1) Leave Kim with Chloé, letting him be happy  
2) …thirdwheel? That wasn't really an option  
3) …uhhh… find _un garçon_ to go with? This close to prom?  
4) …was there even a fourth option? Was there really even a second or third?  
5) ...?

"Max?"

Max opened his eyes.

"Hey." Alix put down her bag and sat next to him. "How are you?"

"I'm doing all right," Max lied.

"Cool." Alix took a deep breath. It was just Max. Just a friend. No reason to be so nervous. "So, um…"

What she was supposed to say: "Hey, I'm like, not a fan of promposals because they seem like way too much pressure to say yes, but I'd also like to ask you to prom. If you want to answer no, please just answer no, because I'd rather get rejected than make you miserable. Max, would you go to prom with me?"

What was running through her head: "Okay what the hell I had this all worked out what was I going to say?"

What she said: "What I'm about to say… if you don't want to go with me… that's okay. Um… I don't want you to be like… obligated to say yes. But um…"

Alix pulled the teddy bear and the chocolates out of her backpack. She couldn't read Max's face. "Will you go to prom with me?"

He paused for a long time. In that pause, Alix learned that regardless of the style and the disclaimers – even if she'd said everything exactly right, even if she'd gone all out with fireworks, even if she'd asked without the bear – you cannot remove the pressure from a prom ask.

"Yeah, sure. Yes," said Max.

They hugged. Alix was rolling with it and trying to squash the regret with the thought that hey, she was going to prom with him.

She didn't fully know what she'd done.

* * *

 **Hmmm… Could it be? It has not been done before, but… Do I see a villain twice as evil in my future?**

 **Fly away, my little akuma. We shall soon find out.**

* * *

 **A/N: Akuma #1 = I'M SO SORRY EMILY  
**

 **Akuma #2 = I'M SO SORRY OMAR**

 **(obviously things aren't the same on your ends or mine but this is my apology to you)**

 **Wow lots happened this chapter. How will things play out? Drop a review if you've enjoyed the story, and follow if you're interested in the rest. See you soon~**


	7. Chocolate, Part 1

***sprints in for the first time since June***

 **HEY... hey... lemme just catch my breath...**

 **Sorry all, I was super stuck for the longest time. On the bright side, I've got two chapters ready to go now, soooooooo let's go~**

 **(A summary of things in case you forgot in the last 4-5 months: Chat Noir asked Ladybug to prom and got turned down bc secret identities, Chloe gave up on Adrien and agreed to go with Kim instead, Max got asked by Alix and ultimately got twice as akumatized as anyone else. What comes next? Stay tuned...)**

* * *

Ladybug swung onto the roof of the Dupain-Chengs' bakery, detransforming once she landed.

"If I hurry, I can still ask Adrien to prom," Marinette said to Tikki, hastily grabbing her schoolbag and her promposal supplies.

"You haven't eaten all day," Tikki reminded her.

"Food can wait. I've only got five minutes left of lunch break."

Marinette ran downstairs and across the street. She sprinted up the stairs to the school, across the yard, and up the stairs to her class.

Adrien wasn't there yet, but Alya was. "Nino said Adrien asked someone to the prom yesterday," she whispered.

"Did she say yes?" Marinette asked.

"No. That's why he was all bummed."

"Who would say no to Adrien?" Marinette said, bewildered.

"I mean, I would, but that's cause I'm taken. Nino also said Adrien's okay with going with someone else. So you should still ask him."

"Mm. Okay."

Alya looked at her. "I shouldn't have told you, should I? Don't back out of this."

"Oh no, it's fine. I'm glad you told me."

The door to the classroom opened. Marinette looked up, expecting Adrien. But the door swung shut without anyone appearing.

Marinette frowned. That was odd.

Chloe squealed suddenly. Marinette glanced over to find a dark red… teddy bear?... standing on Chloe's desk threateningly.

"You'll pay for this," it said, throwing something small and dark at Chloe. It hit her in the head and burst, showering her hair in a neon green powder.

Chloe and Sabrina screamed. Everyone else in the room scrambled for the door.

"You can run, but you can't escape me," the bear said, chasing after them.

Alya and Marinette stopped just outside the doorway and pressed themselves against the wall. The other three bolted down the stairs. The akumatized bear ignored Marinette and Alya and went after the others.

Marinette turned to Alya, who had her phone out. "We've got to hide somewhere."

Alya flipped to her phone camera and started recording. "You go ahead. I'll be getting the scoop."

Marinette patted her shoulder. "Stay safe."

Alya smiled. "I will."

The akuma and the other three had already headed outside. Alya ran back into the classroom to get a window view, while Marinette ran downstairs into the girls' restroom.

"Tikki, _transforme moi!_ "

* * *

The Agreste limo pulled away just as Juleka, Rose, and Kim hurtled down the front steps. Adrien dodged the girls as they took cover in the space behind the stairs; Kim booked it down the street.

"Hyahhh!"

Adrien turned his head and saw a small red bear hurl something small and dark at Kim. The object hit Kim's leg and expanded into a brown mass, cementing his leg to the ground. Kim faceplanted on the sidewalk.

Adrien sprinted toward the restrooms. Halfway there, he saw Ladybug emerge from the other one.

"Ah! Uh, you should, you should probably take cover," Ladybug stuttered, slowing as they passed.

"Will do," Adrien said, still running. He didn't stop until he was alone in a bathroom stall.

"Plagg, _transforme moi!_ "

* * *

Kim scrabbled at the ground, trying to get away from the advancing teddy bear. "Who are you?" he demanded, trying not to sound scared. "What do you want?"

"Don't you know me?" asked the bear, putting his hands on his hips. "You're the reason I'm like this, after all."

A flash went through Kim's eyes. "Max?!"

"I'm not Max anymore. I'm–"

His voice sounded like a radio confused by two stations at once. Kim heard something along the lines of "Chocolate Knight" and "Solibear" at once.

"M-max, why?" Kim stuttered.

"I _literally_ just told you my name! And because–"

His voice split into two voices at once – Kim made out the distinct phrases "alone" and "not alone."

"Kim, who's the akuma?"

Kim looked up to see Ladybug running his way. "It's Max! Help me!"

Chocolate Knight/Solibear looked up and leaped away, throwing something small and dark at Kim. Kim flinched, but it never hit him; rather, it expanded to cover him in a brown dome.

The akuma threw something at Ladybug; she countered with her yoyo. He threw a flurry of small objects at her. She whirled her yoyo to stop them, but one burst near her face, and she caught a whiff of –

"Chocolate…" she mused.

Suddenly, she recognized the bear: it had been in the confectionary where she and Alya had seen Alix.

 _She must have asked Max_ , Ladybug realized.

She hit another chocolate with her yoyo, but this one was different; her yoyo suddenly fell straight to the ground. Ladybug pulled the string, only to find that it was too heavy to lift.

"You're mine now!" the akuma growled, throwing one last chocolate at her. Ladybug pulled an excess of wire from her yoyo and spun it, shielding herself from the bonbon.

"Well, well, an akuma without an A," said Chat Noir, dropping in from above.

"Where have you been?" Ladybug huffed. "And what are you talking about?"

"Kuma? Japanese for 'bear'? No?"

"I don't know Japanese."

"Neither do I, but I know this word."

"Let's save the multilingual punning for another time, and deal with– Hey!" Ladybug shouted, realizing the akuma was getting away.

"Shall we pursue?" asked Chat Noir.

Ladybug imagined running and leaving the body of her yoyo behind, tangling the entire city in yoyo wire. "Not just yet. Let me think."

She analyzed the situation. Chat Noir exhaled internally. His heart still ached from the night before, though he was doing his best to remain focused on his duty as a superhero. It was what she would do.

"Right. Okay. Lucky Charm!" Ladybug announced.

Her yoyo spun, releasing a red-and-black spotted bottle. She handed it to Chat Noir. "Go on ahead. He's probably looking for Alix next."

"What about you?"

"I'll be there soon."

Chat Noir nodded and started to run in the direction the akumatized Max had gone. Ladybug threw a loop of yoyo wire around the dome of chocolate and pulled; the dome shattered, uncovering an unharmed (though shaken) Kim.

She took a little time to release him, then bolted for the bakery across the street. Ladybug rounded the corner, detransforming in the alcove of her back door. The weighted yoyo disappeared.

"What's the plan?" Tikki asked.

"Cookies, and then we're running."

* * *

Alix skated lazily toward _le Trocadéro_. She had walked outside after asking Max to the dance. When Juleka texted her, warning her about an akuma at school, she figured it was best not to return.

She was thinking about Max still. She wanted to believe she'd done the right thing… or at least, that she hadn't done the wrong thing. She really did want to go with him. And she was very sure he didn't have any plans to ask anyone else. But she still wasn't sure if it was okay or not.

She would become sure in three… two… one…

Something hit her skates. Alix suddenly felt herself fly forward much faster than she should have, causing her to overbalance and fall. Looking up, she saw a small red bear behind her, running her way.

She narrowed her eyes. She knew that bear.

"I'll make you pay for what you did," it growled.

Let's be real for a sec here. Max wasn't going to remember this. And he'd just given her _super fast skates_.

Alix smirked. Who was she to give up a challenge?

She pushed herself to her feet and got going. The skates let her rocket forward at an exhilarating speed. Something burst just behind her foot; she started zigzagging to avoid follow-up shots.

Alix looked behind her. Where was that bear?

Her foot hit something in the road. She watched the ground whiz past, growing near–

Something large hit her from the side. It hit the ground before her, and they rolled to a stop in the grass by _le Trocadéro_.

"Are you all right?" Chat Noir asked her, letting go of her quickly.

"Yeah," said Alix. "Thanks."

They got to their feet. The bear reached them. "You can't stop me," it said. "I need to make sure they–"

A sense of radio static filled his words. "–don't–forg–leave–again," said the akuma.

"…Okay. And what was your name again?" Chat Noir asked.

"Choc–libear–ight."

"…Right." He brandished his baton as the bear leaped.


	8. Chocolate, Part 2

**Part 2!**

 **When we last left off, Ladybug's yoyo had been affected by the akuma, making it too heavy to move. Chat Noir is on the scene already.**

* * *

Marinette sprinted toward _le Trocadéro_. She'd retransformed briefly to check on Chat Noir's location, and now she was on the way. If you've ever dismounted a bike and then tried to run, you'll know how she felt running instead of swinging between buildings.

She stopped to catch her breath. From here she could see Chat Noir, Alix, and Chocolate… whoever he was, fighting near the monument. Marinette found a good statue to hide behind.

" _Tikki_ ," she whispered. " _Transforme moi_."

Ladybug emerged from behind the statue, leaving behind her heavy akuma-affected yoyo but taking the string. A chocolate bonbon burst in Chat Noir's face, sending him into a coughing fit. Chocolate-Solibear-Knight grinned wickedly and coiled his fuzzy arm, ready to throw another piece while Chat Noir's guard was down.

Ladybug gathered a long strand of yoyo wire, doubled it up to make a long loop, and hurled it at the akuma. It didn't have quite the same effect without the weight of the yoyo, but it was just heavy enough to smack the chocolate out of his hand.

"I can't see!" Chat Noir cried out, rubbing his eyes.

Ladybug looked around quickly. Alix. The bear. The bottle from her Lucky Charm.

"Alix, get the bottle from Chat Noir!" she yelled.

Chat Noir pulled out the bottle and held it in the air, eyes closed. Alix got up from the grass and skated his way, grabbing it from his hands as she passed. Ladybug flung her yoyo wire at the akumatized bear, managing to loop it around him. She swung him in circles.

"…aaaaAAAAAAAaaaaaaaAAAAAAAaaaaaaa…"

"Alix, now!" Ladybug shouted.

The akuma flew at Alix, who splashed him with the contents of the bottle – a clear fluid that seemed to be water until the teddy bear's movements slowed down.

 _Fabric stiffener_ , Ladybug realized.

The bear stiffened and stopped moving altogether. She walked up to him and tore the bow from his neck, releasing a little violet butterfly.

"No more evildoing for you, little akuma," she said, catching it in her yoyo. Alix whizzed by and handed off the bottle, and Ladybug threw it in the air. "Miraculous… Ladybug!"

A swirl of ladybugs enveloped them – Chat Noir opened his eyes, Alix slowed down, Ladybug's yoyo flew to her. " _Bien joué_ ," she and Chat Noir said, bumping fists.

"Alix, thanks," Ladybug said.

Alix saluted. "Glad to help."

They turned to where the akuma had been. "Max–"

It wasn't Max. Or, it could have been Max, but it was more accurately the Gamer, holding a flat black box.

"I keep telling you," he snapped, "I'm not Max. My name is Chocolate Knight, and _she_ pressured me to go to prom."

Alix looked distraught. "I'm sorry! I wasn't trying to–"

Max opened the box and pulled out one of his chocolate projectiles. "It doesn't matter. I'll make you regret it." He hurled it at her. Chat Noir batted it away with his stick.

"A double akuma?" Ladybug wondered.

"Let's hope he's not a triple," Chat Noir remarked.

They sprang into action. Max's – er, Chocolate Knight's – throw rate was faster than it had been when he was a bear. Chat Noir tackled Ladybug to prevent her from getting clocked by an exploding bonbon.

They rolled. She ended with her back on the ground, his face above hers. He ended with his heart just a bit immobilized.

"Chat Noir, watch out!" she gasped, trying to push him out of the way.

He was at a bad angle for her to do so – a piece of chocolate shot into his side. His vibrant green eyes turned pale.

"Not again," he groaned. "Love is blindness."

Ladybug helped him up and pulled him behind a post. "Lucky charm!" she shouted. Her yoyo spun and released a flashlight. She looked around the pillar – shoot, she'd forgotten about Alix. Alix was on the ground, skates broken, trying frantically to pull them off before Chocolate Knight got to her.

Ladybug looked down and realized the flashlight's bulb was incandescent. _I need more time_ , she thought.

"Chat Noir, hold on to this," she said, switching the flashlight on and handing it to him.

"Wait–"

Ladybug ran. There wasn't much he could do, incapacitated like that. She threw her yoyo, knocking aside a chocolate that was aimed for Alix. Chocolate Knight refocused on her, hurling bonbons her way. Ladybug blocked chocolate after chocolate, making some explode and some fall away with no other effect. She snagged Chocolate Knight around the wrist and tugged hard, pulling him down. He rolled back onto his feet and yanked the wire back. Ladybug yelped and flew towards him – a bonbon met her halfway, bursting into a net that wrapped itself around her. Ladybug fell to the ground, struggling to break free.

Chat Noir was blinded. Alix was too far away, and still stuck in one of her skates. Ladybug's stomach turned as Chocolate Knight knelt in front of her. She couldn't move enough to cover her ears.

"I'll just be taking this," Chocolate Knight said with a smirk, reaching for her Miraculous.

A silver rod hit him solidly in the stomach, pushing him back. Chat Noir dropped down next to Ladybug and held out a Cataclysm-loaded hand. She pushed the net into it, causing it to disintegrate.

"But… How?" Chocolate Knight spluttered.

Chat Noir grinned. "I guess I'm accustomed to being blinded by love."

He swung his baton wildly, aiming in the direction of the akuma's voice. Chat Noir handed the flashlight to Ladybug, who sprinted toward the akuma, yoyo whirling. Chocolate Knight hurled chocolates at a rapid-fire speed – all of them ricocheted off of her spinning shield.

Ladybug caught his wrist – the one with the box in it. He reached down with his other arm, but Chat Noir's baton kept it away. Infuriated, he grabbed the baton and jabbed it at Chat Noir, hitting him hard in the chin. Chat Noir stumbled, and Chocolate Knight kicked Ladybug away and reached for his box…

"What?" he exclaimed, finding a box full of liquefied mush. Still holding the now-very-hot flashlight – which she'd used to melt his chocolates – Ladybug kicked the box from his hand and threw her yoyo at it. The yoyo looped around the box, which was warm and soft enough to rip down the middle when she pulled tight.

And it was finally over. Ladybug caught the akuma and threw the flashlight into the sky, restoring their small part of Paris. Max emerged next to a white box of chocolates; Chat Noir's eyes turned from white to green.

"Chat Noir, that was incredible," Ladybug said, smiling.

He smiled back. "I couldn't let my lady down."

They fist-bumped and looked at Max. Alix's skates were repaired, and she'd made it over to him. They were talking now.

"Best leave them to it."

"Yeah."

They stood there for a bit.

"Chat Noir?" Ladybug said awkwardly.

"Yes, my lady?"

"I'm sorry we can't go to _la bal_ together."

He blinked in surprise. "I– That's all right, I understand."

Ladybug nodded. Her earring and his ring beeped, reminding them that they had to go.

"Hey," she said. "I'll be there with you in spirit, okay?"

She couldn't see him turn red beneath his mask. But she could see him smile. "Okay."

The two heroes of Paris swung out of sight.


	9. No Regrets

***staggers into the room***

 **Y'all... I survived finals... and midterms... and my own overthinking...**

 **Where did we leave off? Oh, right, Ladybug and Chat Noir had just dealt with an akumatized Max, who was akumatized because Kim's going to prom with Chloe and Alix accidentally cornered him into going to prom with her. Marinette's promposal was scheduled for today.**

* * *

On days when akuma attacks were short-term problems, schools generally tried to reconvene before the end of the day. There were always students who didn't come back, either because they'd been directly affected by the attack or because they were jumping at the chance to get a half day off.

Alix was normally one of the latter. Today, Marinette spotted Alix in the locker room as they prepared for the second half of the school day. She walked over.

"Hey Alix," she said. "Did you end up asking someone to prom?"

"Oh." Alix shut her locker. "Yeah. He, uh… It was complicated, but we're not going together."

"Oh. I'm sorry," Marinette said carefully.

"Oh, no, it's… we're just not going _together_ ," Alix explained. "He, uh… Well, we're just both going separately, and like, we'll probably hang out at prom anyways."

"So… things are okay?"

"Yep," Alix said. "We're not forcing a date, he's not alone… things are good."

 _Things are good_ , Marinette kept thinking as she and Alya headed to class. She glanced toward the back of the classroom – Max seemed to be in good spirits.

"Soooo… After school, then?" Alya said cheerily, pulling out her notebook and pens.

Marinette glanced at her promposal supplies. She'd left them in the room when they ran from the akumatized Max, and here they were still. Part of her expected them to be gone – the morning felt so long ago, now. But here they remained, a reminder of what could either be disaster or a new beginning.

"After school," Marinette said.

* * *

Nino didn't think he could be any more nervous for a prom ask than he'd been for his own. And he wasn't. But this was very close.

"We don't have to stay," Adrien said again, awkwardly.

"No, I want to study a little longer," Nino said quickly. They were sitting in the library, "studying" (that is to say, Adrien was uninterestedly skimming his physics notes and Nino was waiting for Alya to give him the go-ahead).

"You don't even have your notes out."

"I can study on my phone."

Adrien shook his head and returned to Poynting flux. Nino flipped again to his texts with Alya.

 _How's it going?_ he texted her.

* * *

"Okay. I think we're ready. Is the flower good? Do you want to rehearse or anything? We checked the CD, right?"

"Alya, everything's fine," Marinette said.

Alya wasn't sure why she was so anxious over Marinette's promposal – well, besides the obvious. More accurately, maybe, she wasn't sure why Marinette was so calm.

"Are _you_ okay? Are you there?" Alya waved a hand in front of Marinette's face, as though a more panicked version of Marinette would magically appear.

"I'm here."

"Okay. You're ready?"

"…I think so."

"Okay. I'll text Nino."

* * *

Nino jumped when he received the text from Alya. "Okay, I'm ready to go," he said, standing up.

"Okay," Adrien said, closing his physics notebook.

Nino hopped from foot to foot as his best friend _oh so slowly_ packed up. "Great," he said once Adrien's belongings were all in his bag. "Let's go."

* * *

Marinette examined the rose in her hand. A simple rose. Red, the color of love. Just right for a promposal that was serious, but gentle. A show of love, but not of the extravagant, overboard variety.

"He's coming," Alya said.

* * *

"Where are you going?"

"I left a book in my locker."

"Oh, for the love of–"

* * *

Alya was hiding beneath the stairs with the CD player and speakers, so she didn't see him approach.

"Uh… hey, Marinette."

Marinette turned to the voice.

"Oh. Hello, Nathanael."

* * *

"Adrien."

"Hey, Lila."

* * *

"I was wondering…"

* * *

"I made this for you," Lila said, pulling a stuffed fox out from behind her back. "I was also wondering…"

* * *

"Could I take you to _la bal?_ I mean, would you go with me… Could we go together?" Nathanael asked, pushing a piece of paper Marinette's way.

At this point Alya figured out what was going on and hopped up onto the stairs. "Whoa, wait, you can't just _do_ that–"

"I'll go with you."

Alya's jaw dropped straight through the floor and into the earth. " _What?!_ "

Marinette's eyes were on the paper Nathanael had given her – she remembered his art style from the last time she'd received one of his drawings. It was a picture of her, wearing a ballgown, and him on one knee, hand reached out as a way of saying, "May I have this dance?"

"I'd be honored to go to _la bal_ with you," Marinette said, smiling in a way that eased Nathanael's heart.

* * *

"Of course I'll go with you," Adrien said, smiling. Lila smiled back. Unlike the stuffed fox – Adrien could feel the remains of a tag that had been cut off – her expression was genuine.

"Okay! So, ah… I guess I'll text you to coordinate things?" Lila said. "I can cover the flowers."

"Oh, that's all right. I can get those."

Lila opened her mouth to argue, but ended up laughing instead. "Right. Fashion designer dad."

"Yeah." He laughed too.

* * *

"Marinette, you know I support you no matter what," Alya said ten minutes later, standing in Marinette's room, "but, _what?_ "

"I mean, I'm willing to go with Nathanael," Marinette said. "He's nice. Did you see the look on his face? I think that made his day."

"What about Adrien? What about the love of your life?"

"I… I kind of didn't want to ask him."

" _Why?_ "

"He's still sad from the girl who said no," Marinette said. "I didn't want to push him. It's not possible to ask without pushing him, if Alix is any evidence. He'd say yes for my sake, but he needs time to recover. He needs space. I don't want to do that to him."

She was rambling just a little, trying to fully articulate her reasoning. Alya sighed, shook her head, and wrapped her arms around her best friend.

"I hate how considerate you are," she said. "I really do."

* * *

"Adrien, _why?_ "

"Why not?"

"Lila? The snake?!"

"Lila's not that bad," Adrien said, frowning. "She lies because she wants people to think she's cool."

"She acts like she's better than everyone."

"Maybe that's just how everyone sees her. Remember when I first got here, and you all thought I was a snob?"

Nino faltered. Adrien smiled. "Besides, she seemed happy when I said yes. As long as I can't go with who I wanted to go with, why not make someone else happy by going with them?"

Nino groaned. "You're too selfless," he said. "Why are you like this?"

Adrien shook his head, smiling. _If I can make someone that happy…_

* * *

 _ _…_ then I have no regrets_, Marinette thought.

* * *

 **Muahahahaha.  
**


	10. Last Minute

**Disclaimer: I don't know anything about sewing machines and dressmaking. Please forgive me.**

* * *

Ten days until prom: four akumas. None of these victims were Marinette Dupain-Cheng when she found out Adrien was going to prom with Lila Rossi – " _Lila!_ The nerve… She _must_ have known he'd just been turned down, but she asked anyways! She didn't even give him time to _breathe!_ " – but three were Adrien Agreste fans upon finding out he had a date.

Seven days until prom: three akumas.

Four days until prom: eight akumas.

Three days until prom: eleven akumas.

Two days until prom: fifteen akumas.

One day before prom:

Ladybug swung onto the bakery roof, detransformed in midair, and flopped on her bed with a heavy groan. Tikki spun out of her earrings and plopped down on Marinette's pillow, exhausted. Marinette pulled a box of day-old cookies out from under her bed and pushed a few towards Tikki.

Four last minute promposals and rejections. Five dress rentals that fell through. A guy and a girl whose dates switched on them last minute for each other. Two girls who'd bought their dresses online from sketchy websites that sent low-quality dresses. And it was only two in the afternoon.

She and Chat Noir had been building up to this. Ladybug warned him to stock up on whatever his kwami ate; he suggested getting rest whenever she could possibly manage it. The Ladyblog, livetweets, and news reports were constantly open on their computers and phones. They'd discussed homework and agreed it was best to put it off until after prom. They were both skipping school today.

Marinette glanced at the unfinished material hanging over her dress form and around her room. She'd told Alya she was skipping school to finish her dress. Between all the akumas in the past week, she hadn't had enough time. The dress was getting… close… ish. That is to say, all the pieces were cut out, and some were sewn together…

There was a thud on the roof. Tikki shot into the box of cookies; Marinette swept the box back under her bed.

Chat Noir's head poked over the edge of the open loft door. " _Bonjour_ ," he piped.

" _Bonjour_ , Chat Noir," Marinette said, sitting up. "What brings you here?"

"I heard you stayed home to finish your dress."

Where did he hear that?

"Yeah, I did. Just taking a break right now."

"How's that going?"

"Going… all right," Marinette said, faltering at the complete lie.

"Hmm…" Chat Noir mused. "Is there any way I can ad-dress this situation?"

Marinette sighed. He'd made that pun before. "It's all right. I have it under control."

"Well, all right." He stood up to leave. "But if there's anything thread-ening your wellbeing, give me a call. I've got you covered."

Marinette nodded. "Okay. Thanks." He was probably just trying to prevent another akuma. It was nice of him to check up on her, though. Especially when he could have been using this time to rest.

"Out of curiosity…" she wondered, "why didn't you just come in?"

He grinned. "You're right here. Besides, it would be impolite to enter a lady's room uninvited. See you around, Princess."

Marinette shook her head, smiling. Well. Better get going on that dress while she still could.

As she sewed, she kept thinking of the time Nathanael was akumatized. Evillustrator had waltzed right in through the window.

* * *

One day before prom: thirteen akumas before two in the afternoon. Half an hour of peace and frantic sewing. Twenty-three akumas after that.

They stretched well into the night, refusing to let up until two in the morning. There was one period of twelve minutes in which Marinette got a little bit more sewing in, and a three minute stretch in which she wolfed down a croissant (and nearly choked and died. Tikki had to smack her in the back to get it out).

At four minutes past two in the morning, Ladybug landed in Marinette's bedroom, detransformed, and collapsed on the bed, reaching for the day-old… two-day-old cookies.

"Tikki, I've run out."

"That's okay," said Tikki, fluttering toward the door to the rest of the house. "I'll get cookies. You work on the dress."

Marinette sighed, staring down at the fabric strewn across her room. At the rate things were going, she would have to pull an all-nighter in order to finish her dress, take care of more akumas, and get ready for the prom herself. She knew she could do it… It was just a matter of her prom night turning into a complete nightmare.

Marinette took a deep breath. "Okay, Marinette. Let's get going."

* * *

Adrien shut off his computer screen and climbed into bed. Everything was taken care of – his tuxedo, the corsage and boutonniere, his schedule for the following day. All he had to do was show up – well, and take care of Chat Noir's business. But Adrien Agreste's prom night was all set to go.

He couldn't help but worry about Ladybug, though. He had no idea how well she was handling the combination of prom preparation and prom akumas. All he could do was keep telling her to rest when she could, and hope she heard him.

Adrien was drifting off, but he woke up a little when he realized he'd forgotten to check on one last thing.

"Plagg–"

"I'm _sleeping_."

"And soon you'll be sleepwalking. _Transforme moi._ "

* * *

The bodice was starting to come together when Chat Noir landed on Marinette's roof. "Good morning," he said, poking his head into the room.

"Shh, my parents are asleep," whispered Marinette. "And it's night."

"It's past two in the morning."

"It's still night. Morning means I'm running out of time."

He was quiet for a moment. "Need any help?" he finally asked.

"Sewing?"

"You'd be surprised," said Chat Noir.

"I guess. Come in."

He dropped to the floor and slid down the staircase railing to where she was. "What can I do?"

"Umm…"

Marinette got him started on hand-stitching a section of the bodice near the shoulder, while she hemmed the skirt with her sewing machine. Periodic glances in his direction told her that he seemed to know what he was doing.

"I think I finished," he said eventually.

Marinette looked up. "Okay. Wait one second."

She finished off the hem and took the bodice from him. "Nice job," she congratulated him.

"Thanks, m'lady."

Marinette placed it on the table behind the sewing machine. "Let's see… I made a stencil earlier…"

She picked up the bodice again and turned to find the stencil. On her way there, she tripped over her desk chair, causing her to lurch forward. The bodice caught on the sewing machine, pulling them both off the table and onto the floor.

Marinette landed on the ground with a groan. "Ouch," said Chat Noir with a wince. "Sorry if my bad luck rubbed off on you."

"No, I'm usually this clumsy…"

She gasped suddenly. Chat Noir looked, and his heart sank. The bodice had caught at the part of the sewing machine where the needle was, and pulled through in such a way that there was now a ragged line of stitches right across the shoulder of the dress, pinning it closed from the end to the neckline. Even if they pulled the stitches out, the fabric would have been too torn up to use.

The two of them stared at the ruined bodice for a moment. Chat Noir fully expected Marinette to panic – it was preposterously late, and at least an hour's worth of work was down the drain, and she'd have to detach and recut and resew and – okay, maybe he was panicking.

"Okay," said Marinette. "Let me find the stencil first."

She located the stencils and gave him instructions regarding fabric paint and glitter. Chat Noir set to work, a layer of paper protecting the floor. Marinette, meanwhile, used the bodice and a ruler to make a few measurements, then took a pair of scissors to the top.

At three, Marinette passed Chat Noir the altered top to stencil while she took a catnap (both the idea and the pun were Chat Noir's). At three twenty-five, Marinette woke up to gingerly pin the still-drying bodice together on the dress form, and pin the skirt to that. Chat Noir finished up the stenciling on the upper skirt while she sewed everything together.

At four in the morning, they sat side by side on the floor, admiring their work. "We did it," Marinette said happily.

"We did," said Chat Noir. " _Bien joué_."

Marinette blinked. "It's what Ladybug and I do after a successful mission," Chat Noir explained, holding up his fist. "I think it's… fitting."

Marinette smiled. " _Bien joué_ ," she said, bumping fists.

"Fitting, get it?" Chat Noir gestured at the dress. "You still need to try it on."

"The dress form has the same measurements as me. It'll fit."

"I want to see," Chat Noir said, grinning like a kid.

"Uh-uh." She wagged a finger at him. "You'll have to wait until tomorrow."

"But prom is today!"

"No, Monsieur It's-After-Midnight," Marinette chided playfully. "You'll have to wait until tonight. You'll see me there."

Chat Noir sighed dramatically. "Oh, all right."

He got up to leave. Marinette turned off the lights, and he followed her up the stairs to the loft. The world outside was already turning light in that gray pre-dawn way, telling them both to hurry up and get to sleep.

"See you tonight," Chat Noir said, leaping onto the balcony.

"Chat Noir, thank you," Marinette said as sincerely as possible.

"Anytime, Princess." He gave a sort of wave with two fingers, and sprung off into the night.

Marinette would have laughed, but the lateness of the hour turned it into a tired smile. "Good night, _chaton_ ," she said, leaning back into her pillows.

* * *

 **Credits for Monsieur It's-After-Midnight go to my friend, who coined the term "Mr. F***ing Midnight" for people who think anything after midnight is a new day. This is the French/PG version.  
**


	11. Preparation

**At last, the day arrives. I may not have obtained your Miraculouses just yet, Ladybug and Chat Noir, but the last few weeks have been leading up to this day! Prepare, my evil akumas, to darken the hearts of Paris!**

* * *

A flurry of chimes from her phone woke Marinette the next morning. She glanced at the time.

"Ten thirty," she said happily. "Six and a half hours of sleep! Not bad!"

"Glad you got some rest," said Tikki. "Looks like the akumas are starting now."

* * *

"Sleep well, m'lady?" Chat Noir asked, running up next to Ladybug on a rooftop.

"Better than I thought I would," she answered with a grin, still running. "You?"

"Slept like a cat," he said. "Any idea where the akuma is heading?"

"Not just yet. He–"

She stopped suddenly. "Oh no."

"What?" Chat Noir looked down at the street and watched the akuma walk into a florist's shop.

" _Not more flowers_ ," they groaned simultaneously.

* * *

Alya glanced at her phone before remembering she'd checked the time all of ten seconds ago. It was ten past one, and Marinette was supposed to be over by now.

With a sigh, Alya skimmed through social media. She'd resolved not to cover any of the akuma attacks on the Ladyblog today, which was hurting her journalist's heart. Fortunately, there didn't seem to be too many akumas today – at least, not as many as the past week. A florist had messed up several orders, which led to first the stressed customers being akumatized, then the florist himself. Other than that, most problems seemed to be working themselves out. Which meant Alya wasn't missing much on her blog.

A text notification popped up.

 _Nino: Yo Marinette finished her dress, right?_

 _Alya: She said she did_

 _Nino: Oh good_

 _Nino: Lila's prom date was wondering_

Alya smiled ruefully. She and Nino had been communicating constantly to get Marinette and Adrien together for prom, selectively telling their best friends what they needed to know. She still regretted telling Marinette that Adrien had asked someone to the dance, but apparently he'd been asked out just minutes before Marinette's promposal. So in some ways it had spared her from rejection. Go figure.

She heard footsteps running up the stairs. "Sorry I'm late," Marinette huffed. "Took too long in the shower."

"Girl, what am I going to do with you?" Alya laughed. "Well, you're here now. Let's get started."

* * *

Chat Noir landed in his room and detransformed. "Good thing I don't have to do a ton of makeup," Adrien said to Plagg, running to the bathroom. "I don't know how I'd be able to run back and forth between akumas and… How's my hair?"

"Your hair is fine."

Adrien started changing into his tux. He'd argued a little bit against standing out too much, but his father had insisted on the white tuxedo.

"As the son of a fashion empire, you will be expected to stand out," his father had said. Adrien had acquiesced, although he didn't like it.

Adrien was wearing all but his suit coat when the news station on the TV started showing another akuma attack. "Plagg, _transforme moi_ ," he said immediately.

* * *

"I have my dress now," Marinette said, running up the stairs with a bag and hanger in hand. "Sorry, I–"

She tripped; Alya caught her. "Careful! Don't worry, we're not in that much of a rush."

"I know, but if I keep forgetting things…"

"Let's just remember them all now. Do you have your shoes? Jewelry?"

Marinette's blank face answered her.

"Go ahead and get them now. There's time."

"Uh… I'll just wait for a bit first. I'm still not done with hair and makeup."

She was finishing up hair when Alya's phone buzzed. "Aw, man," Alya sighed. "I'm missing another akuma…"

Marinette gave her hair one last spritz of hairspray. "I forgot something for my hair at home," she said, putting the can down. "Be right back."

"Don't forget your shoes and jewelry!" Alya called after her as she ran down the stairs.

 _Don't worry_ , thought Marinette. _I definitely will._

* * *

"Your hair is different."

"I know it is. Come on, let's get this akuma over with."

"I like it like this."

"You'd say that no matter what I did to my hair."

"Probably."

* * *

Nathalie checked the time on her tablet. This wasn't good. Adrien usually did his best to be on time, but once in a while…

He came rushing down the stairs. "Sorry," he said, slipping into his suit jacket.

"Don't run," she said. "You'll mess up your hair."

Adrien smoothed down his bangs a little bit and headed outside. The Agreste limo was waiting outside to take him to Lila's.

"The flowers are in the minifridge," Nathalie said, following him to the car. "After picking up your prom date, you will take photos at _le Trocadéro_ at 4:30. The Grand Hotel Paris is opening its ballroom doors at 7, so you should expect to be there by 6:30. The event ends at midnight, at which point the limousine will be ready to pick you up."

"If my friends need a ride…" Adrien began.

Nathalie sighed. "They're hardly friends if they take advantage of your material comforts."

"I offered. It won't be too many friends."

"I'm not going to stop you."

Adrien hugged Nathalie tightly. " _Merci_ , Nathalie."

She straightened her glasses. "Well… it's no problem."

 _No problem, maybe_ , he thought as he climbed into the limo, _but you're the reason today is going so smoothly. So, thanks._

* * *

Despite Marinette having to "go back home" at least three times to retrieve what she'd "forgotten," Marinette and Alya were ready by a little past 4. Only a little late.

Nino and Nathanael were waiting downstairs. When the girls walked in, Nino stiffened in shock. Nathanael blushed and looked away, his face the color of his hair.

Alya laughed. "Oh, come on," she said. Her curls bounced as she walked over to her boyfriend. "It's just me."

" _Just_ you?" he said in disbelief. "The most beautiful girl in the world _just_ decided to become even more so?"

"Oh, shut up," Alya said, pleased.

Marinette stood awkwardly by Nathanael. "Er… You look nice," he said shyly.

"You too," she said.

Their parents were all waiting outside with cameras. "Oh, you're all growing up so fast," bubbled Sabine Dupain-Cheng.

"Mom, we need to get to the _Trocadéro_ –"

"Oh, just a few here first."

* * *

Adrien glanced at his watch. He and Lila had finished up their duo photos – he wasn't calling it "couple photos" because that felt wrong – and the others were supposed to have arrived already. Which was especially important considering that he didn't know when–

His phone buzzed, and his heart sank. Guess the next akuma was coming now.

"I'm going to use the restroom before anyone else gets here," he said to Lila. "Um… stay here."

"Okay… Where else would I go?"

He was already walking quickly out of there. Lila sighed, her sunset-orange evening gown swishing behind her as she made her way to the side of the stairs. She hadn't thought it would be this weird, taking Adrien as her prom date. Maybe the night itself would be better.

* * *

Alya, Nino, and Nathanael filed out of Madame Cesaire's sedan. "Where's Adrien?" Nino asked Lila with a frown.

"Don't look at me like I ate him. He's been in the restroom for almost twenty minutes."

"Oh, there he is," said Alya, nodding towards the approaching figure in white.

Adrien slowed from a run into a jog down the steps. "Sorry about that," he said.

"Your hair." Lila brushed his bangs back into place. Alya and Nino both stiffened.

"Is Marinette coming?" Adrien asked them.

"She forgot her purse at home," Alya sighed. "I don't know what I'm going to do with her."

"I'm here! Sorry, I–"

Adrien turned around just in time to catch her. Miraculously, her face missed his white tux.

They pulled apart. Something in Adrien's chest got quiet as he took a look at his friend – one of his best friends, wearing the dress he'd helped her finish. A soft pink color, strapless because she'd cut off the shoulders, decorated with the flowers he'd stenciled on last night. Her hair was swept up in a simple bun, and her eyes were as blue as ever.

Marinette's heartbeat doubled from a) getting to see her crush in a _tuxedo_ , he looked _so handsome_ , and b) tripping right into him.

"S-sorry," she stammered, straightening back up. "Your makeup didn't get on you, did– I mean, my makeup–"

Adrien glanced briefly at his dress shirt. "Nah, my clothes are safe," he said. "You look lovely."

Her heartbeat went from double speed to a complete halt. This was it. She was dead.

"You too! Uh, I mean, not lovely, maybe handsome, but… thanks?"

Adrien laughed gently. Marinette did too.

They turned to face the rest of the group. Everyone was staring at them.

 _Mon Dieu, they're so perfect together_ , thought Alya and Nino.

 _Mon Dieu, what am I doing here?_ thought Nathanael and Lila.

* * *

The six of them finished up photos at six fifteen and boarded the Agreste limo. Adrien and Marinette took a toilet break that for some reason lasted half an hour.

"Come _on_ , we're going to be late!" Alya called to the two teens running from the nearest restroom.

"Your hair," Marinette said, breathing hard, as they both climbed into the limo.

"Oh," he said, sweeping his fingers through it. "Thanks."

"Glad you could join us," said Lila, linking her arm through his. She hadn't put this much effort into asking him out just to be shown up by another girl.

The limousine's engine started. Nathanael smiled at Marinette. She'd made friendly conversation with him all afternoon… he appreciated it, he really did, because he couldn't start a conversation to save his life. But he kept thinking… maybe she'd have been happier with… someone else.

Adrien and Marinette watched the city go by outside the limousine. So far so good. Now for the rest of the night.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey all! We're reaching the end soon! Final stretch hype!**

 **Marinette's prom dress can be found here, replacing all the "dot"s with ".":** thebirdfromthemoon-art **dot** tumblr **dot** com/post/146302377027/rule-number-1-when-designing-dress-theres-never

 **(that's all I had to say. I'm going back to school soon so it might not be an immediate series finish, but it'll literally be within the next two weeks. So. Enjoy!)**


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